Huntley's Andrews, Bartlett's Brohan reach milestones
The actual girls basketball game between Bartlett and Huntley took a back seat on Tuesday to a record-setting night by two of the area's best players - Huntley's Ali Andrews and Bartlett's Kaitlin Brohan.
While the Red Raiders got back on the winning track after dropping their last 3 games at the Montini Christmas Tournament with a 59-48 win it was Andrews who stole the show.
The senior standout, who earlier in the season eclipsed the 2,000-point plateau for her career, reached another milestone by becoming the all-time leading scorer in McHenry County history for both boys and girls, surpassing the previous record of 2,146 points held by former Iowa star Melissa Dixon of Johnsburg. Andrews needed 11 points for the record and finished with 33 points, just 1 shy of her career high.
That wasn't the only milestone reached as Brohan became the ninth player in Bartlett history to reach the 1,000-point mark.
"It's a nice accomplishment," Andrews said. "I remember Melissa Dixon was great player so it means a lot. I owe a lot to my teammates and coaches."
Andrews dominated from the start with 10 first-quarter points to stake the Red Raiders to a 15-9 lead which they never surrendered.
"They were matched up on her one-on-one in the post to start, so that is something we clearly wanted to take advantage of," Huntley coach Steve Raethz said. "Ali really carried us tonight like she does so often. Becoming the all-time leading scorer in McHenry County is a great accomplishment considering how many great players there have been. It has been a great season for her and a great 4 years and another great performance tonight."
The Red Raiders (13-3) led by as many as 12 points early in the second half, but the Hawks had pulled to within 4 points in the final minutes. However, Andrews and Paige Renkosik helped ice it with a pair of buckets each down the stretch. Renkosik scored 11 of her 16 points in the second half.
"Bartlett switched to zone in the second half to try and slow down Ali," Raethz said. "I thought Paige really stepped up and did a good job of attacking the basket."
Brohan's milestone basket came on a hard-fought basket inside with 2:04 left in the third quarter. The senior finished with a team-high 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists.
"It meant a lot to me especially being able to do it with a lot of my teammates that I have been playing with since seventh grade," Brohan said. "It's been a great experience."
Bartlett (9-7) was plagued by 16 of 32 shooting from the free throw line.
"We have struggled to even get too the free throw line this year," Bartlett coach Dave Mello said. "But now that we are getting there we have to start making some. That really killed us tonight."